14 DAY TRIAL // Although the exact relationship between Michael Jackson and his father, Joe Jackson, is still subject to much speculation, it seems the two were close enough to allow Joe to know that the late King of Pop did, indeed, have a secret lovechild. That other son is Omer Bhatti, whose name recently popped up in the press after several outlets noted that he had front row seating at the public memorial held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Joe Jackson says in a new interview with NewsOne.
While tackling topics from how he felt when he learned that Michael had passed away from what is still believed to be an overdose to the hopes he has for the other members of the Jackson clan, Joe Jackson also drops the unexpected bomb: Omer Bhatti is actually Michael’s secret son and he knew about it. While playing down Joe’s statement for the simple fact that he reportedly had no kind of contact with Michael in later years seems the easiest alternatives, several US publications can’t but stress that, in the end, this is the first time that a Jackson talks about the possibility of Michael being related in any way to Bhatti.
“Meet the real Joe Jackson – beyond the rumors, beyond the stereotypes, beyond the usual answers to the typical questions. In a joint NewsOne/TVOne exclusive, Joe Jackson reveals more than ever before of himself and his relationship with his late son Michael. Joe Jackson talks candidly with NewsOne’s Smokey Fontaine about: the young man, Omer Bhatti, who has been rumored to be Michael Jackson’s biological child; Michael’s death, and how his son would be alive today if he had been there for him; Michael’s grandfather, ‘Professor Jackson,’ who was, in many ways, Michael’s inspiration.” NewsOne writes.
The full interview is scheduled to air today but in the preview already made available (and posted below for you to see), Joe Jackson says without even flinching that he knew all along that Michael had “another son,” and then names Omer Bhatti as that boy. Moreover, he says that the 25-year-old man, who is now trying to make a name for himself as a rapper, bears more than one resemblance to all Jacksons: he’s got the looks, he’s got the voice and he’s got the dancing skills, Joe says.
As noted above, rumors of Bhatti being Michael’s son started to circulate again after word got out in the media that he had attended the memorial service and had been seated in the front row, right in the middle of the Jackson family. Only days later, Bhatti himself denied being related to the late King of Pop, saying that he was only a close friend who was lucky enough to have been allowed to live with him for a while.